Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Blumenthal Wants Background Checks on Ammunition Buyers

Washington—If the federal government can require background checks for gun buyers, why can’t there be the same checks on ammunition buyers?

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said today he plans to introduce a bill later this month that would require instant background checks for the sale of bullets. He also said the bill is only the first gun-control proposal he aims to introduce “in the coming weeks and months.”

“There is no rational reason why a person can walk into a store, fill their shopping cart with hundreds of rounds of ammo, pay up, and walk out without so much as giving their name. This proposal would close this ludicrous loophole,” Blumenthal said.

Background checks would be conducted by the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System, which already checks the background of gun buyers. The FBI has conducted about 100 million such checks this year and, according to Blumenthal, barred the sale of a gun to 700,000 people identified as felons, domestic abusers or mentally ill.